The Relationship between Personality Profiles and the Esthetic Perception of Orthodontic Appliances.

Introduction: In orthodontics, patients' esthetic expectations involve the final esthetic result as well as the treatment's appliance choice. Personality traits can influence patients' perception, treatment modality selection, expectations, compliance, and satisfaction with the treatment outcome, although there are very few studies on this interconnection between personality and orthodontic appliances. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between personality traits and the esthetic perception of different orthodontic appliances. Materials and Methods: The online questionnaire is composed of three parts: (1) sociodemographic variables; (2) questions on the esthetic perception of different orthodontic appliances; (3) general personality assessment via the NEO-FFI. A total of 461 questionnaires were accepted. Results: There were statistically significant differences between laypeople and professionals related to assessing smiles and the need for orthodontic treatment. Laypeople identified a statistically significant relationship between personality traits and orthodontic appliances, in which esthetic perception is associated with high traits of agreeableness and openness. Neuroticism is most associated with orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances, which are the most conventional. Conclusions: Professionals tend to have a more critical judgment than laypeople as far as esthetics is concerned. Personality traits play an important role in esthetic perception and may influence orthodontic treatment.

Influence of Ultrasound Stimulation on the Viability, Proliferation and Protein Expression of Osteoblasts and Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts.

Among the adjunctive procedures to accelerate orthodontic tooth movement (OTM), ultrasound (US) is a nonsurgical form of mechanical stimulus that has been explored as an alternative to the currently available treatments. This study aimed to clarify the role of US in OTM by exploring different stimulation parameters and their effects on the biological responses of cells involved in OTM. Human fetal osteoblasts and periodontal ligament fibroblasts cell lines were stimulated with US at 1.0 and 1.5 MHz central frequencies and power densities of 30 and 60 mW/cm2 in continuous mode for 5 and 10 min. Cellular proliferation, metabolic activity and protein expression were analyzed. The US parameters that significantly improved the metabolic activity were 1.0 MHz at 30 mW/cm2 for 5 min and 1.0 MHz at 60 mW/cm2 for 5 and 10 min for osteoblasts; and 1.0 MHz at 30 mW/cm2 for 5 min and 1.5 MHz at 60 mW/cm2 for 5 and 10 min for fibroblasts. By stimulating with these parameters, the expression of alkaline phosphatase was maintained, while osteoprotegerin synthesis was induced after three days of US stimulation. The US stimulation improved the biological activity of both osteoblasts and periodontal ligament fibroblasts, inducing their osteogenic differentiation.

Interceptive Treatment with Invisalign® First in Moderate and Severe Cases: A Case Series.

The increasing demand for more aesthetic/comfortable orthodontic alternatives fostered the utilization of clear aligners in recent years. However, the efficacy of clear aligners for treating complex malocclusions is often treated with scepticism. This case series aims to evaluate the predictability of the Invisalign® First system in moderate and severe cases requiring interceptive orthodontic treatments in mixed dentition. A total of 23 patients with 102 interceptive orthodontic malocclusion traits were selected for orthodontic treatment with Invisalign® First and were examined over 18 months (Phase 1). Clinical assessments included ClinCheck® predictions, cephalometric measurements, and measuring tools commonly used to quantify tooth movement. Measurements taken at the beginning and end of the treatment were compared. The complexity degree of each case was established based on the set of problems presented by each patient. All treatment objectives were achieved within 18 months, except for two Class II cases, with 69% of them solved with the first set of aligners. Additional aligners were used in the remaining cases. Even though these 23 cases suggest that the Invisalign® First (Phase 1) may be effective in most interceptive problems, controlled randomized clinical trials are required to evaluate movement predictability and how this relates to the problem complexity and additional aligners required.

Human Interleukin-1ß Profile and Self-Reported Pain Monitoring Using Clear Aligners with or without Acceleration Techniques: A Case Report and Investigational Study.

Introduction: There is a growing demand for more aesthetic, comfortable, and faster orthodontic treatments, and clear aligners emerged as a solution to fulfill this need. However, the effectiveness of clear aligners to treat complex malocclusions is yet contentious. The use of acceleration methods could improve the efficacy of clear aligners by stimulating cells' mechanobiology through numerous pathways, but this hypothesis is still poorly explored. Objective: We aimed to monitor the release profile of an inflammatory marker-the interleukin-1ß-and to evaluate its relationship with self-reported pain scores with and without the use of acceleration techniques during an orthodontic treatment requiring difficult tooth movements with clear aligners. Case Report. Here, we report a case of a 46-year-old female patient who presented functional and aesthetic complaints. Intraoral examination revealed a diminished overjet and overbite, rotation of teeth 45 and 24, absence of teeth 25, 35, and 36, buccolingual dislocation of tooth 21, a tendency to a Class III malocclusion, and a 2 mm left deviation of the lower midline. This study is divided into three stimulation phases: no stimulation, mechanical vibration stimulation, and photobiomodulation. Interleukin-1ß levels in gingival crevicular fluid samples from the pressure side of six selected teeth were evaluated at four time points after the orthodontic treatment onset. Pain monitoring in those teeth was performed using a visual analogue scale at the same time points. Results: Interleukin-1ß protein production peaked 24 h after treatment onset. Complex movements were associated with increased self-reported pain. Conclusion: Clear aligners show limitations in solving complex tooth movements, even when combined with acceleration. The development of customized and programmable stimulation microdevices integrated into "smart aligners," which could be designed to specifically stimulate the direction of movement and stimulation parameters and could constitute a solution to optimize the orthodontic tooth movement with clear aligners.

Anesthetic efficacy of Gow-Gates versus inferior alveolar nerve block for irreversible pulpitis: a systematic quantitative review.

This review aimed to assess and compare the outcomes of the anesthetic efficacy of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) and Gow-Gates mandibular nerve block (GGMNB) in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. A descriptive systematic review of quantitative research was conducted wherein the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA)" was adopted, and the Problem/Patient/Population, Intervention/Indicator, Comparison, Outcome (PICO) criteria were used to structure the research question. A literature search was performed using PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Ovid. Selection criteria were applied for populations over nine years of age, of either sex, with irreversible pulpitis, and articles published in English regarding conventional IANB or IANB and Gow-Gates techniques between 2009 and 2019. Prospective randomized clinical trials or randomized controlled trials were included in the review, in which anesthetic efficacy or success was measured. After screening, four articles were included. Three studies were randomized clinical trials, and two were randomized controlled trials. The validity and reliability of the individual studies were examined. There was evidence of the higher efficacy of the GGMNB technique than that of the IANB technique. However, both techniques can be mastered through training.

Study of alveolar ridge dimensions before and after orthodontic treatment in maxillary lateral incisor agenesis: A pilot study.

The objective of this study was to compare the dimensional changes in the alveolar ridge before, at the end of, and one year after orthodontic treatment in cases of Maxillary Lateral Incisor Agenesis and the possibility of using plaster models and panoramic radiographs as substitutes for cone beam-computed tomography. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 228 measurements were performed on plaster models and panoramic radiographs: before (T1), at the end of (T2), and 1 year after orthodontic treatment (T3). At stage T2, the cone beam-computed tomography was also analyzed. Non-parametric tests were used. RESULTS: In all 3 stages, there was no statistically significant difference regarding the thickness of the models, the height of the bone in the panoramic radiographs, the space opening and the height of the bone in the panoramic radiographs, or the space opening in the models and the thickness in the same plaster models. However, a statistically significant difference was observed for the width in the panoramic radiograph during all 3 stages. Cone beam-computed tomography did not reveal a statistically significant correlation regarding the height and width of the bone compared with the panoramic radiographs, and the thickness as compared with plaster models. CONCLUSION: There was no significant variation in thickness, height and width of the bone over time. It was demonstrated that plaster models and panoramic radiographs do not appear to be good substitutes for cone beam-computed tomography for these specific measurements.